Portland Edges USF in Re-birth of Halftime Mile
2/18/2011 12:00:00 AM | Track and Field
PORTLAND — Four University of San Francisco runners joined the men's basketball team in competing against Portland on Thursday night.
The Dons went head-to-head with the Pilots at halftime of the men's basketball game, competing against one another in the "Halftime Mile," run on the three-lane indoor track in the Chiles Center. This year's race was considered the re-birth of the Halftime Mile event, after the tradition was shelved for more than a decade.
Portland came away with a 15-21 win in the two-team challenge, which both teams considered a successful event.
"It was so loud during the race [with all of the fans screaming], that I couldn't even yell to our runners," USF track associate head coach Tom Kloos said. "It was definitely a fun event and truly a competitive event."
Portland's Jared Bassett won the race in 4:11.38 with Steve Garboden finishing a second and a half behind him in 4:12.90. Coming in third was Portland's Trey Parry (4:14.84) with Will Marquardt on his heels in 4:15.89.
Fifth and sixth place went to Pilot runners Cody Wells and Scott Fauble with times of 4:16.32 and 4:16.47, respectively. Michael Barnes was seventh in 4:19.34 with Colin Hopkins taking 4:28.05 to run the race.
Alex Nelson, USF alum and current Director of Operations for the Dons' cross country and track and field program, also competed in the race and turned in a time of 4:25.10. His finish was not included in the team scoring.
The race was essentially even at the half-way point before two Portland runners took off from the pack. Will two laps to go, Marquardt chased down the Pilots, but couldn't sustain their pace. Late in the race Garboden went after the Bassett, but ran out of time to catch him.
"It was a fun, friendly competition," Portland head coach Rob Conner said. "We really appreciate Helen Lehman-Winters sending up her team. I think they enjoyed it too."
